Creating an engaged work force

JENNIFER LEDET

Sunday

Sep 2, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Our success in business depends on certain "people" skills that we often take for granted. Think about those people who are considered successful in their fields, and you will usually find that they have effective communication skills, work ethic, professionalism, problem-solving and leadership skills.

However, I frequently hear business owners and managers complain about their employees lacking these skills.

Many people entering the workplace today, and some who have been in the workplace for quite a while, simply have not been taught these skills. I am certainly not pointing the finger at anyone or any institution, I am simply stating a fact that I hear repeatedly from leaders and managers in business.

So how can you teach an employee to have professionalism or work ethic? Well, my answer to that is you canít expect a quick fix. Sorry. I have no magic pill or "easy button" that you can offer to your employees. You need to provide ongoing training that improves those skills starting with a look behind the attitudes that shape them.

This is not the type of training that you can cram down employeesí throats. Rather, it must be presented in such a way that employees come to their own conclusions, each in their own individual way.

Employees who have been in the workplace for a long time often need this type of training as much or more than less-experienced workers. Judgment, work ethic, professionalism -- these characteristics donít automatically develop as one gets older. You, as an employer or leader, may have to provide them.

Research shows that certain skills are needed today in order to be successful. Most sources cite the following skills as being essential for success today:

Success in the future requires all of the skills listed above, plus the following new "hyper-human" skills:

Judgment, adaptability, teamwork.

Ethics, honesty, integrity, responsibility.

Influence, inspiration, risk-taking.

Friendliness, caring, compassion, empathy.

Imagination, innovation, intuition.

Planning, goal-setting.

Of course, you must first ensure that your leaders, managers and supervisors possess these skills and model them on a daily basis. You have to walk the talk. Once youíve got your leaders practicing what youíre preaching, then you need to go to work on the rest of the workforce.

If you want your organization to remain competitive, you need employees who are engaged, motivated and inspired. We have talked many times about what it takes to get your employees engaged and motivated. Remember that you cannot motivate other people. All people are already motivated. They will do things for their reasons, not yours. So your job as a leader is to figure out what drives each individual and to then tap into that motivation. In other words, you can create an environment that draws on their own internal motivations and inspirations.

When leaders complain to me about a disengaged, unmotivated or uninspired workforce, I tell them that what they donít want is a quick-fix workshop that will be forgotten by dinner. What I offer them is a proven process that creates permanent and lasting change in each participant. Of course, when it improves the individual, it improves the work group and, ultimately, your bottom line. Often, employers tell me in response that they canít afford to provide this type of training to their work force. Eventually, they come back to me after having realized that they canít afford not to provide this training.

Providing training in these skills to your employees is an investment in your most important asset. With the marketplace as tight as it is today, these professional-development workshops can be what it takes to give you the competitive edge.

Whatever the results you are seeking -- productivity, improved communication, professionalism -- a motivated work force will get you there. When employees are fully engaged and enthusiastic about their contributions, the results you want will follow.

Jennifer Hodnett Ledet is a human-resources-management consultant and trainer based in Thibodaux. She offers interactive professional development workshops for leaders and employees at all levels which provide take-home value that can be applied immediately. To learn more, visit www.ledetmanagement.com or e-mail her at jledet@ledetmanagement.com.

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